Pete.the.dog

Well for larger dogs it's takes about 2 years to finish growing/settle down a bit doesn't it? A bit less than for smaller dogs *I think*

I've tried to get the loose leash walking thing right - and for some reason I am hopelessly incompetent. I'm going to wait for Steve to come to Adelaide for one last try - and if I'm still hopelessly incompetent after he's shown me what to do - I'm buying a harness! Colosmo I agree - For those of us who are too dumb (or have dogs who are too challanging) I think it's probably a great tool But Huski I also agree with your point that a trainer should be able to get the dogs walking lose leash - even if that doesn't translate to the owner being able to do it.

If only someone had a camera on me today... Taking Pete for a run and I tripped on the pavement and stacked it big time, lots of bleeding dirty graze wounds - he runs ahead on the lead though so it would have made a pretty impressive action shot of a naughty dog

Ohh I can't find my damn memory card! Was just about to get the leash out and snap up loads of bad walking behaviour shots!! I'll try to get some good and bad shots tomorrow if I can find my card!

Thanks - had never been on this site before! Ended up buying sheets without even looking at the pet stuff Edit for typo

Mine is outside during the day unless it's too hot then he is inside and has no problems. I don't think it really matters too much either way to be honest, as long as either space is dog proofed and they have enough stimulation to not be destructive

That is VERY clever!!

I can't believe 'drag strip' is currently trumping animal cruelty

That's pretty good!! Pete just sniffs happily in their direction Although to his credit we haven't ever walked past any 'scary' people

Pete used to steal undies but has stopped that. Occassionally he will find a sock and take it away to play with it ..

Yes, I have always discouraged Pete's barking (used to bark at the neighbours dog whose feet he could see under the fence) I'm afraid if I studdenly turned around and rewarded barking he would see it as a free-for-all

This can make it tricky, a little excitement coupled with frustration usually does the trick. I taught one dog to bark by putting a chair in front of a door so that he couldn't get past then waited on the other side with some food, ready to click. Excitement + frustration = bark. An old trick used by Schutzhund trainers is to tether the dog, then wave a tug toy around just out of reach. These dogs are already trained to tug and are mad for it so they are excited and frustrated. So if there is something Pete is mad for, you can probably think up a frustration scenario which will cause him to bark. It doesn't need to be much, just be ready to capture it. A clicker makes this much easier. Ohh ok, for some reason I thought it would be bad to get him barking that way, but if others are doing it I don't have any guilt around it, thanks for that

Hi Aidan, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to teach Pete to bark on que, but considering he is such an infrequent barker at the moment I don't know where I'd be able to start from. The only time he let lose with his barking was in response to a cat he ran into!

nawwwwwww

Pete's full name is Pete Doherty (on his microchip certificate) - after musician.. Pete Doherty. We're trying to keep Pete the dog off crack... It's working better than for Pete the human.

Yeah I guess that's what I'm hoping for, Pete picking up strange vibes! Otherwise maybe his size will scare them off like you said deelee, although he's a bit of a cartoon dog so who knows. Hopefully I never have to find out!!

Well hopefully Pete would alert me if was necessary. He usually doesn't do that. Oh well if someone comes to the door he will go to the door and sniff, but maybe if I was sleeping he would go to the door and bark? I wouldn't expect him to go ninja on some robbers while I hid under the covers .. Just maybe give me a bit of warning so we can both go under the covers

Oh by step up I don't mean attack, I mean, be more of an active deterrant (not just lie there) Just the usual fear I don't often spend the night in an empty house, and ours is old and creaky, so last night was a bit scary..

Mines in his favourite spot - in the hallway right outside my bedroom, with his face pointed right in my direction in case I dare try and move away

Some of you may know I live in a share house, we have a lot of people coming and going so Pete is used to strangers entering the house. He doesn't bark at people when they enter the door (the only time he barks at people is very occasionally at me when he wants me to play or is telling me off for not getting to the door with the lead quick enough) He is very polite around tradesmen, either giving them a happy sniff or not even bothering to get up. There is usually at least one other person sleeping in the house at night, but occassionally I find myself home alone, and I find I am not really comforted by the fact that Pete's there. I'm wondering if someone did try to or actually enter the house, do you think Pete would jump into protective mode? Has anyone had an unprotective dog become protective at just the right time? I'm hoping to get some comforting stories cause last night was scary!!

bahahahhahaha LOVE the expression in this photo

Sorry I was also commenting in regards to the post on the top of this page about the lab X It does get old though, I agree..

Trying to think of what I do When we go for walks he has an automatic sit at the roads - when there are no cars I would say "Pete, watch" then "ok" when watching, then "yes" as a release to cross the road (if he didn't watch the first time, I would say 'watch' again, but not 'pete' again - I think) When calling him from somewhere I would say "Pete, Come" In just general training I dont think I use his name at all, unless its calling him over to start training, so I guess I use it as an attention thing.

That can depend on the Vet as well. I have seen some dogs that I would describe as fat verging obese, yet informed by the owners the Vet has told them the dog looks fine, weight wise. If the Vets go by scale and then by the average only, or if the Vet is going by what they are used to seeing, this can give misleading information to the dog owner. I tend to agree with Erny on this one. I've had multiple vets get quite stuck into me about Sir Walter being too thin. He's an Afghan Hound damn it and he is in perfect condition thankyou very much! I've worked with many vets who I've heard tell clients their dog is the perfect weight. Hmmm...still look quite overweight to me. Ribs non existant, no waist or tuck. We had a stunning Labrador in the other day who had lost a whopping 12kg. He looked fanbloodytastic, and I heard the voice coming from the consult room telling the owner the dog is now too skinny and needs to gain at least 3kg. :rolleyes: Looked perfect imo and that of others around me. I definitely would not always live by what many vets say. It's a tough one, especially with cross breeds. I have a rescue dog who looks to have some hound in him, he is quite slim, taller than a lab but about 24kg - I'd say he is the build of a greyhound - now people often tell me I need to feed my dog more, but the vet said that he appears to be in great shape/perfect weight (believing him to be a wolfhound X) - so where do you go from there, I mean - it's sort of impossible to know what is too skinny if you are unsure if he is a part skinny breed - I think you just have to do the best with the info you have, the advice you have, and not get too concerned by others opinions on what you should be doing with your dog - I had a women pull over the other afternoon, was a 32 degree max day, and I was jogging with Pete from 4pm-4.30, and this women told me it was cruel to be exercising my dog in the heat. Clearly she was a moron (IMO) so I ignore her advice. I guess what I'm trying to say is you're never going to get a complete consensus.

I'm coming!! Very excited to hear more info about it!!